''Royal Pains'' is an American
comedy-drama
Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
television series that ran on the
USA Network
USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
from 2009 to 2016. The series is based in part on contemporary
concierge medicine practices of independent doctors and companies and follows Hank Lawson, an unfairly discredited but brilliant diagnostic surgeon, who moves to
the Hamptons
The Hamptons, part of the East End (Long Island), East End of Long Island, consist of the town (New York), towns of Southampton (town), New York, Southampton and East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton, which together compose the South Fork ...
with his brother Evan as he works as a concierge doctor to the uber rich and ultra elite. The cast of the show includes
Mark Feuerstein
Mark Feuerstein (; born June 8, 1971) is an American actor. He had an early, recurring role on the NBC sitcom ''Caroline in the City'', playing the title character's boyfriend, and later gained notice in a guest appearance on an episode of Sex ...
,
Paulo Costanzo,
Reshma Shetty,
Brooke D'Orsay,
Ben Shenkman
Ben Shenkman (born September 26, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the comedy-drama series '' Royal Pains'' and the acclaimed HBO miniseries ''Angels in America'', which earned him both Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe ...
,
Jill Flint, and
Campbell Scott.
Cast and characters
Main
*
Mark Feuerstein
Mark Feuerstein (; born June 8, 1971) is an American actor. He had an early, recurring role on the NBC sitcom ''Caroline in the City'', playing the title character's boyfriend, and later gained notice in a guest appearance on an episode of Sex ...
as Dr. Henry "Hank" Lawson, a formerly successful New York
E.R. doctor, who is fired from his job after a wealthy hospital benefactor dies in his care. When he saves someone's life during a trip to
the Hamptons
The Hamptons, part of the East End (Long Island), East End of Long Island, consist of the town (New York), towns of Southampton (town), New York, Southampton and East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton, which together compose the South Fork ...
, he accepts an offer from Boris, a
German businessman, to remain as a "
concierge doctor" in his palatial estate. He usually attends to wealthy clientele, but also others in need of care and often without the means to pay. According to the episode "Keeping the Faith", he and his brother are
Jew
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish.
*
Paulo Costanzo as Evan Roth Lawson, Hank's younger brother. He is an accountant and self-appointed
CFO of HankMed. Evan's job is to promote the HankMed business, at times using strategies that Hank finds inappropriate or too commercial. At the end of season 4, he marries Paige, the adopted daughter of a wealthy, conservative military man who is running for the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
. When Boris buys Hampton Heritage hospital in Season 7, he becomes a member of the board and the hospital's Acting Administrator.
*
Reshma Shetty as Divya Katdare, Hank's
physician assistant
A physician assistant or physician associate (PA) is a type of non-physician practitioner. While these job titles are used internationally, there is significant variation in training and scope of practice from country to country, and sometimes be ...
. She proposes the idea of a concierge practice and is invaluable to Hank. She initially has to keep her medical career a secret from her parents. Forced by her parents into an arranged betrothal to a childhood friend, she has broken free of their control and is living on her own. As of season 6, Divya has a daughter named Sashi, but is involved in a bitter custody dispute with Sashi's father Rafa.
*
Jill Flint as Jill Casey (seasons 1–4; recurring, season 8), Hank's on again/off again girlfriend and an administrator at Hamptons Heritage. Jill works with Hank to open a free clinic while also running the local community hospital. In the fourth season, she leaves the Hamptons to do relief work in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
.
*
Brooke D'Orsay as Paige Lawson (seasons 4–8; recurring, seasons 2 & 3), Evan's wife. Paige is the daughter of a wealthy, conservative former military officer with political aspirations who initially does not think Evan is good enough for his daughter. Paige and Evan meet when she hires him to play her pretend boyfriend, but their pretend relationship soon blossoms into a real one. She pursues a career in Art and soon becomes a curator for art collectors in the Hamptons. In the season 4 episode "Who's Your Daddy?", she is revealed to be adopted, and in the season 4 two-part finale/special "Off-Season Greetings", she and Evan marry.
*
Ben Shenkman
Ben Shenkman (born September 26, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the comedy-drama series '' Royal Pains'' and the acclaimed HBO miniseries ''Angels in America'', which earned him both Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe ...
as Dr. Jeremiah Sacani (seasons 5–8; recurring, season 4), was hired by Evan to be Hank's replacement during Evan and Hank's temporary halt to their business partnership; Sacani stayed on when Hank and Evan made peace. He is an accomplished researcher and excels at his work, although he has limited social skills and an awkward bedside manner. Sacani is an heir to a vast fortune. He and Divya become best friends. She moves into his house in Season 6 when she is facing financial troubles and is pregnant with Sashi. Their friendship is almost broken when Divya meddles in and almost destroys Sacani's relationship with a woman named Viviana. In season 7, Sacani is conned out of a great deal of money from a former fellow college classmate.
*
Campbell Scott as Boris Kuester von Jurgens-Ratenicz (seasons 4 & 5; recurring, seasons 1–3 & 6–8), a wealthy and titled German businessman who offers Hank and Evan his guest house, and is Hank's first client. Boris has a genetic disease he is determined will die with him, and which he fights with equal determination. He often seeks rare or risky treatments. Used to getting what he wants, Boris has a rigid code of conduct, which at times puts him at odds with Hank. In season 3 he has a son, Carlos, with his wife Marissa. In Season 6, he buys Hampton Heritage hospital, stating that he intends to settle permanently in the Hamptons. He persuades Hank, Evan, Divya and Jeremiah to become members of the hospital's Board of Directors but has a secret agenda.
Recurring
*
Henry Winkler
Henry Franklin Winkler (born October 30, 1945) is an American actor, producer, director, and author. Widely known as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the sitcom ''Happy Days'' (1974–1984), Winkler has distinguished himself as a character acto ...
as Eddie R. Lawson, Hank and Evan's loving, ne'er-do-well father who left the boys when they were young. Accused of embezzlement, Eddie served a short term in prison and is now on parole, a best-selling author and has been rebuilding his relationship with his sons and his new-found daughter Emma.
*
Anastasia Griffith as Dr. Emily Peck, an arrogant rival doctor who works with (and becomes briefly involved with) Hank. Emily is hired to substitute for Hank while he makes an extended visit to
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
with Boris, and soon comes into conflict with Divya because of her arrogance and her detached approach to her patients.
*
Michael B. Silver as Ken "Killer" Keller, a sports agent and Hank's former high school bully. While Hank is initially hostile to him they develop a mutual respect and friendship. By season 5 Keller joined HankMed as the practice's lawyer.
*
Tom Cavanagh as Jack O'Malley, a pro golfer who was featured in the season-two episode "Mulligan" and later became a recurring character in season 3, as his friendship with Hank became more pronounced. Jack died in the season 3 episode "Hank and the Deep Blue Sea" which caused Hank to develop emotional trauma.
*
Kyle Howard as Dr. Paul Van Dyke (nicknamed "P.V.D."), a staff doctor at Hampton's Heritage; Divya first meets him while moonlighting at the hospital. After a brief flirtation between Divya and him, Evan hires him as one of Hank's replacements during the temporary halt to the business partnership between Hank and Evan. Van Dyke's personality is very energetic and impulsive, which has gotten him into awkward situations professionally and socially. Van Dyke would later join the new HankMed. He had a pet rabbit of which he was very fond. He also has a slightly older
fraternal twin
Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...
brother named Daniel (nicknamed "D.V.D.").
*
Anna George as Rubina Katdare, Divya's reserved and loyal mother. She follows the traditions of a traditional
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n housewife, a sympathetic ear to Divya's frustrations and a bridge to Divya's father. When Divya's father disowns her, Rubina secretly keeps a relationship with Divya. She is eventually inspired by Divya to follow her heart, which causes her to leave her husband and travel the world.
*
Ajay Mehta as Devesh Katdare, Divya's strict and strait-laced father. He disowns Divya when she cancels her wedding with Raj (
Rupak Ginn), but they reconcile once she becomes his nurse after he nearly drowns.
Episodes
Location
Principal production of the show's pilot occurred in
the Hamptons
The Hamptons, part of the East End (Long Island), East End of Long Island, consist of the town (New York), towns of Southampton (town), New York, Southampton and East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton, which together compose the South Fork ...
. However, other locations throughout
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
were used, with
Oheka Castle being the most prominent. Although actually located 60 miles to the west, in
Huntington, Oheka served as the Hamptons home of Boris, the German nobleman who offers his guest house to Hank and Evan. In later episodes, exterior and aerial shots of Oheka are used to introduce scenes in the guest house.
In one episode, a
Long Beach
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
drive-through convenience store,
Dairy Barn, was used as a fictional hot dog stand; a sign can be seen in the opening of that scene. Also, several scenes were shot on the bay side of
Point Lookout. Other places used as fictional Hamptons locations include
Northport Village in the Town of Huntington,
Old Westbury Gardens,
Freeport's Nautical Mile, which served as the exterior and parking lot of Hampton Heritage Hospital (in one scene, Freeport's charter coat can be seen across the bay)
Caumsett State Historic Park and
Oyster Bay Town Hall, which was transformed into the entrance of the Hamptons Heritage Hospital emergency room. Catalina Beach Club in Atlantic Beach, New York was transformed for the pilot episode into the fictional Hampt Inn, the hotel Hank and Evan stayed in upon their arrival in the Hamptons. Downtown
Locust Valley, another haunt of the wealthy on Long Island's Gold Coast, plays downtown East Hampton in at least one episode (where Evan and Paige go shopping), with interior shots in a store as well as street scenes. Other areas of filming include
Roslyn, New York and
Manhasset, New York
Manhasset is an affluent Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. It is co ...
, where the
North Hempstead, New York
North Hempstead (officially known as the Town of North Hempstead) is one of three towns in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 237,639 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the 7th largest city or town ...
Town Hall was used as a police station.
For several beach scenes, West Neck Beach (Huntington) was used and a food shopping scene was filmed in Southdown Market in Huntington.
Huntington Hospital was used for Hamptons Heritage Hospital.
Two episodes of the second season take place in
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, but were filmed in
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
. The third episode (Lawson Translation) of the fifth season is set and was also shot in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
,
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
.
Both Lawson and his girlfriend Casey drive identical
Saab 900 convertibles.
Development and production
The pilot was filmed on location on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
,
New York in the spring and fall of 2008. The pilot was directed by
Jace Alexander, who also filmed the pilot of ''
Burn Notice'', another USA Network show, which aired in the hour before ''Royal Pains''. Andrew Lenchewski wrote the pilot and Rich and Paul Frank executive-produced the project, with Lenchewski co-executive producing and John P. Rogers producing. The series was then picked up for a 12-episode season.
Awards and nominations
Reception
''Royal Pains'' has become one of the highest-rated shows on cable.
The series premiere was watched by 5.57 million viewers, the highest series premiere for the
USA Network
USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
since ''
Psych
''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened o ...
'' in 2006. With episodes two and three watched by 5.59 million and 6.5 million viewers, respectively, it was the first show in five years to have viewership increase from week two to week three.
Ratings
Home media
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast.
UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...
released the first season of ''Royal Pains'' in Region 1 on May 25, 2010, and released it in Region 4 on August 25, 2010. Season 2 was released in Region 1 on May 17, 2011.
A DVD released on January 3, 2012, contained the first 10 episodes of the third season.
The complete series is also available on iTunes.
The complete series was released on DVD by Mill Creek Entertainment on September 22, 2020.
Books
From 2011 to 2012, D.P. Lyle published two novels based on the television series, under
Signet Books
The New American Library (also known as NAL) is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948. Its initial focus was affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works as well as popular and pulp fiction, but it now publis ...
' Obsidian imprint.
Legal issues
On July 6, 2010, actor
Hayden Christensen and his older brother
Tove Christensen filed a lawsuit against USA Network in a
Manhattan Federal Court. In the suit, the brothers claimed to have pitched USA Network an idea for a new television series, called ''Housecall'', which involved a concierge doctor who made house calls to the rich and famous. The two brothers also claimed that a USA Network executive told them, "prior to learning about ''Housecall'', he was unaware of concierge doctors and that he thought it was a fascinating idea." A USA Network spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuit. On May 10, 2011, a Manhattan judge ruled not enough evidence was available to justify a breach-of-contract claim because the claim concerns "materials that are not copyrightable, such as ideas." The decision was reversed on appeal in June 2012, the court holding that Christensens' claims were not pre-empted by copyright law. The opinion stated, "There are several qualitative differences between such a contract claim and a copyright violation claim," and added that sister appellate circuits recently had come to this same conclusion. The case was settled in May 2013, with no details made public.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Pains
2009 American television series debuts
2016 American television series endings
2000s American comedy-drama television series
2000s American medical drama television series
2010s American comedy-drama television series
2010s American medical drama television series
American English-language television shows
Television series by Universal Cable Productions
Television shows filmed in New York (state)
Television shows set on Long Island
USA Network television dramas